That knife wasn’t a special magic artifact, but its tip was sharp. It had mottled cracks and bloodstains that couldn’t be wiped away.
There were signs of use.
The knife and the scroll both floated in the air, far from Yue Jin. The blade tilted downwards, poised to pierce the scroll at any moment.
Baili Xianrong was waiting for her to make a choice, waiting patiently.
Wu Bei, shown in the image, had already arrived at the inn, exchanging money for a crane to fly away from Lin’an City.
That knife pressed against the scroll felt like a knife pressed against her own back. Just a gentle push was all it would take for her to fall defenselessly from the air.
About a quarter of an hour passed, and Yue Jin still hadn’t given an answer. A paper kite flew over, imbued with disdain:
“Before, you provoked her constantly, wasn’t it just to humiliate her? This kind of choice shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?”
“What good would it do you if I killed her?” Yue Jin wanted to buy time. At the very least, she had to wait until Wu Bei landed to have a chance to resist. “Besides, why don’t you do it yourself? Shouldn’t you be more capable than me?”
“Don’t ask so much.”
Baili Xianrong was extremely cautious, giving her no hints about her identity, urging her to hurry.
“If you don’t hurry, I’ll have to give you some warnings.”
A light blue thread emerged, circled Yue Jin, and playfully formed a wave pattern. Before she could react, it ‘whoosh’ darted into the scroll.
Wu Bei was sitting on the crane, yawning. The night wind had stopped, so she flew quite steadily.
It would take some more time to reach Huaijin City. To speed things up and to prevent others from discovering she was missing, she chose this flying method.
Feeling bored, she saw something moving in the distant clouds.
To see more clearly, Wu Bei leaned forward.
The moving object swayed left and right, then suddenly elongated and transformed into a giant blue iron rod, stretching directly in front of her.
Wu Bei was greatly startled and was directly knocked down by the iron rod, sent tumbling downwards. Fortunately, she managed to grab the crane’s feathers just before that, preventing a complete fall.
Her whole body clung to the crane, her legs dangling without support. Slowly, she raised a hand to form a magic seal, summoning some wind to lift her back onto the crane’s back.
“What in the world was that?” Wu Bei took a few breaths, looked back, still feeling shaken.
Watching from outside the scroll, Yue Jin felt her heart wrench. Calling out to her several times was useless; after all, sound couldn’t pass through.
“Choose her, or choose her?”
Beneath the beam, Fu Lingyi’s heart-rending screams were endless. The light spheres crackled, transmitting electric shocks periodically. Because of the Immortal Binding Rope, she couldn’t even collapse from exhaustion.
Choose her, or choose her?
Yue Jin shook her head violently in her heart. “This shouldn’t be a choice.”
She stretched out her hand, reaching out.
“Give me the knife.”
A faint, almost imperceptible chuckle came from afar. The paper kite carried the knife to her hand, dropped it, and scattered.
Yue Jin gripped the rough knife handle in her hand, stood up, and gazed down at the person directly below.
Wu Bei flew in the night sky, even humming a little tune. She didn’t feel any tension, thinking about where she should find information about the location of the villainous organization.
“Just have all the members in Huaijin City go find Wu Ju. Couldn’t she just figure it out then?”
Just as she was muttering to herself, she heard a voice lingering by her ear.
“Daoist friend, I think I heard someone say they wanted their fortune told?”
“Huh?” Wu Bei was puzzled. There was only her and a crane in the air. Where was the sound coming from?
“Our Linghua Sect’s most precious treasure, the Heaven’s Mystery Disk, can calculate everything under the sky. It’s not only accurate but never makes a mistake. Would this Daoist friend like to try?”
“Who’s speaking?” She turned her head left and right, looked front and back, and didn’t even see a single figure.
“Here, here.”
The call came from below. Wu Bei leaned down and saw a person sitting upside down steadily on the underside of the crane, even blinking at her.
She twitched the corners of her mouth: “Who might you be?”
“Not at all, not at all, neither god nor immortal,” the person held out her purple-glazed Heaven’s Mystery Disk, shook her head, “I am Song Yin, the Sect Leader of Linghua Sect. So, what should I call this Daoist friend, and what do you wish to know?”
“Why don’t you come up and talk?” Wu Bei had been leaning down, feeling a bit tired. “We can’t communicate properly like this.”
Song Yin smiled. Her disc and sphere touched, and she suddenly vanished from the crane’s underside. The next moment, she appeared on the crane’s neck.
“What kind of spell is this?” Wu Bei was extremely surprised.
“Linghua Sect’s exclusive secret art, not to be shared.”
“Daoist friend, my fortune-telling is very accurate, won’t you give it a try?”
“Linghua Sect? Never heard of it,” Wu Bei crossed her arms, scrutinizing her from head to toe. “Also, ‘Daoist friend’? Show some respect, I’m much older than you.”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
Song Yin said lightly, raising an eyebrow, and displayed the Heaven’s Mystery Disk again: “Instead of running around in circles, why not try your luck with a guess? Give it a try?”
Wu Bei thought for a moment. Although this person’s origins were unknown, the journey was long, so passing the time wouldn’t hurt.
“Then first calculate what I’m thinking?”
The spheres circled and collided. Song Yin stared at the plate, and Wu Bei unconsciously stared at it too. They both stared for a while before Wu Bei finally couldn’t help but ask: “Well? What’s the result?”
“The result is, you are currently searching for someone very intensely.”
“Hmm… what kind of person?”
“A woman.”
Wu Bei thought to herself, ‘Isn’t that obvious?’ But she still patiently asked: “And then?”
“And then…” Song Yin stretched out a hand, palm up, “One mid-grade spiritual stone per calculation. Time to pay.”
Wu Bei: “…”
“Get lost.”
“Don’t be like that, I was just joking, Daoist friend. Look at you, what’s the rush?” Song Yin hugged the crane’s head, letting Wu Bei kick her several times, but still didn’t leave. She kept joking around with a grin, “This time is free, let’s go again, next time will definitely be accurate.”
“Cut it out! I’ve spent years mixing in the mortal world, I’ve seen plenty of con artists. Hurry up and get lost!”
“Wait, wait, wait! How about, how about I calculate your marriage fate? Everyone seeks a destined relationship, surely Daoist friend couldn’t not need it.”
Wu Bei snorted coldly, full of disdain: “Open your eyes wide and look at my appearance. Could I lack that sort of thing?”
Song Yin climbed up and truly examined her face, clicking her tongue non-stop: “Although Daoist friend has a face that attracts many affections, recently you’ve incurred a peach blossom debt. This is a sign of meeting your fated person. How about this? I have a treasure here. Keep it with you, and as soon as a fated person appears, it will immediately remind you. I’ll only charge you five mid-grade spiritual stones. How’s that? It’s quite a bargain, right?”
She dug and dug in her pocket, pulling out a jade piece as thin as a flower petal. She shook it with a flourish. Wu Bei couldn’t bear it anymore. She rolled up her sleeves, intending to teach this person a good lesson.
“Or.”
Song Yin’s face was full of smiles, showing a slight hint of seriousness. She sat cross-legged properly, placed the Heaven’s Mystery Disk on her lap, and it began to spin rapidly.
“If you give me double the price, I can also help you resolve a crisis that is currently lurking.”
Yue Jin held the knife, took several deep breaths. The paper kite placed the scroll before her, signaling her not to hesitate anymore.
She slid down along the edge of the wall, stepped into the cold water, and looked up at Fu Lingyi’s back.
The Immortal Binding Rope held Fu Lingyi suspended upright in a half-kneeling position. She couldn’t slacken even slightly, or the rope would surely break her neck.
“I am righteous and awe-inspiring, ghosts and demons are startled. My heart is without openings. Heaven… the Heavenly Dao rewards diligence…”
She silently recited the cultivation method, not daring to be slow. The sight was heart-wrenching.
When Yue Jin thought about what she had to do next, she couldn’t help but feel terrible.
She had no choice. She couldn’t let Wu Bei die.
A-Ling was nowhere to be found, Wuhate had passed away, Yue Yuanqiu left, and even Wu Xi died. The people around her were leaving her one by one.
She couldn’t let Wu Bei follow in their footsteps.
Yue Jin tightened her grip on the knife in her hand and walked forward step by step.
She still remembered when she first came to Chongxiang Sword Sect , Fu Lingyi hadn’t been good to her. Not only had she starved her for a day and a night, but she had also shut her in a narrow room, not allowing her to go out.
After that, people came to humiliate her, trampling her dignity underfoot.
Things got a little better for a while, then she was made to make strange ink, which kept her from sleeping well for days and was ultimately never used.
But later…
Later, Fu Lingyi saved her when she was about to drown.
She let her use the back courtyard’s hot spring to heal her leg injury.
She took her down the mountain to eat what she wanted and made all sorts of dishes, letting her choose freely.
She always looked at her with gentle eyes and spoke gentle words.
And now, because of her, she had suffered lashing and punishment from the Disciplinary Hall.
Yue Jin once thought that Fu Lingyi was no different from those so-called righteous path cultivators.
But now…
Yue Jin walked behind her, raised the knife with both hands, and hesitated to bring it down.
Just this afternoon, Fu Lingyi was still holding her hand, walking in the forest, laughing heartily, and saying she was a stone spirit.
She had believed her words so easily, and shouldered all the pressure for her…
The knife in Yue Jin’s hand trembled uncontrollably.
Seeing her like this, the paper kite pulled the scroll over and placed it in front of her.
“Don’t you want her to live?”
Yue Jin thought.
But at the same time, she also wanted Fu Lingyi to live.
She knew the bitter taste of separation. This time, that feeling finally included Fu Lingyi.
Yue Jin’s eyes were red-rimmed, and a clear tear slid down her cheek.
Her knife dropped limply, and just as she was about to refuse, an unexpected person appeared within the scroll’s image.
On the surface, Song Yin was sitting across from Wu Bei, but in reality, she tilted her head slightly, as if looking through the scroll into her eyes.
Then, Song Yin raised a finger and placed it on her lips.
“Shh”
Wu Bei was still flailing about there, but she made a mouth shape. Although there was no sound, Yue Jin received the information directly in her mind.
“Now you owe this Daoist two favors.”
Inside the scroll’s image, the purple astrolabe emitted a burst of light. From its center, a bow and arrow rose, the string was drawn, and it was aimed directly at Yue Jin.
She quickly moved to the side.
The arrow grazed past her hair, severed the suspended Immortal Binding Rope, and plunged straight into the nearby wall.
The restraint on Fu Lingyi’s neck was gone, and she collapsed directly to the ground. The sudden relief made her cough several times.
Wu Bei hadn’t yet processed what was happening, but she saw Song Yin circle her wrist, cross her hands, and purple light circulated at her fingertips.
In an instant, the scroll burst open, scattering into fragments that floated into the air, firmly encasing each light sphere.
All the paper kites froze in place, completely motionless.
Nice work 👏